captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- this is abc 7 news at noon, "on your side." >> thank you for joining us today. we begin once again on storm watch. the region woke up to another cool and wet day, and now more rain showers are moving in. it is the nationals opening day. >> not very good baseball winter, but that is spring ball. i remember when it snowed during the opening day a few years ago. it is it damp out there.

let's start out with a live look from our camera on the roof. right now, cloud cover overhead. look down to kentucky and tennessee. we are seeing a development of upper level energy that is going to bring us a few spotty showers, nothing to widespread. i think we will get the ball game in. it will be a cool game. a few spotty showers developing. we will talk about the improvements because yes, we will have some improvement. that is the latest. southern states are reeling from severe storms. an apparent tornado flattened buildings and tore off roofs. coming up, how residents are dealing with a damaged left behind. the u.s. formally handed

over command of military operations in libya but today there are reports that cia operatives are on the ground there. pamela brown is following this for us and is alive in our satellite center. >> defense secretary robert gates said today that american involvement is winding down now that nato has taken over, but questions about the future of the country remain. rebels launched a series of rocket attacks on the frontlines between two key cities. they were beaten back by gaddafi forces. >> he has command and control communications, a lot of which the opposition does not have. >> abc sources said on wednesday

president obama signed a secret presidential finding allowing cia operatives to provide support to the rebels in eastern libya. lawmakers in washington remain divided over america's engagement in libya. >> this is the most model definition of an operation probably in u.s. history. >> i think the president has been quite clear in terms of what the military mission is. and that's one of the reasons why we can take the position of no boots being on the ground. >> the u.s. military scaling back its involvement in libya the debate on whether to arm the rebels is heightening. in response to that issue secretary gates said if there is going to be that kind of assistance, and there are plenty of sources to do it -- then

there are plenty of sources other than the u.s. to do that. the nuclear crisis in japan is greeting big concerns about the food supply. officials are testing soil to see if spring farming can begin. so far 99 tested to products have turned up with some of radioactivity. here in the u.s., trace amounts of radiation have turned up in milk samples. the fda says those levels do not represent a public health threat. the u.s. military is sending a marine unit to japan in response to the nuclear crisis. they are expected to arrive on friday. the unit is trained in personal the contamination and will remain on standby near the nuclear plant. the pentagon stresses the crew is only being sent as a

precaution. the end is in sight, the message today from virginia's department of transportation to drivers stuck in malls of backup and roadblocks nearly every day. some good news for commuters. >> that is right. the dog released its update today. -- vdot released its update today. this year, it projects will start to bear fruit. >> a lot of crazy people who do not know how to drive. >> vdot says the legendary traffic may start to fizzle away. vdot announced big strides 4 imago projects this morning above all the much anticipated hot lanes are complete. >> everybody will get in faster,

i think, for the commute for people who travel to work from home. >> the woodrow wilson bridge will get express' and local lanes this year. john lynch says the last interchange will not wrap up until 2012. >> it will help us improve the traffic flow and hopefully reduce congestion so we can get to work quicker and with less time. >> the dulles rail project is on schedule and on budget. some nine time closures on the beltway are in the months ahead -- some night time closures on the beltway are in the months ahead. the project to widen interstate 95 is progressing this year. this summer, it will wrap up with a third lane to the occoquan bridge. two men are facing charges in the murder of the university

of maryland student. a 22-year-old and a 23-year-old are charged with first-degree murder. they are accused of killing a man back in january. the suspects knew the victim was a drug dealer and wanted his money. there is a growing controversy over taxicab service in the district. the proposal would cut the number of taxicabs in the city by 50%. the city would affects a medallion to the taxicab to prove their license to be able to pick up passengers. >> i have trouble catching a cab. >> capitol hill area se, it can get a lot harder. >> [unintelligible] >> opponents say the medallion

system would lead to a monopoly in the city. harry thomas, jr. says drivers should consider the cost of the medallion as an investment. a cold and dreary start to the major-league season around here but it is not keeping away the fans. the nationals will begin their season in less than an hour with a home game against the atlanta braves. is everybody showing up? >> absolutely. this rain is not keeping them away. at this point, we are getting underway with the pre-game festivities and ceremonies. in an hour or so, we will have the ceremonial pitch thrown out by five members of the military. bundled up, eager fans flocked to nationals park, anxiously

awaiting the first pitch. laura lined up early for tickets to watch the home town nationals take on the atlanta braves. she says the weather can not dampen her enthusiasm. >> it is still the opening day. it still has the atmosphere of the start of the season. >> with new players on the roster and familiar faces returning, fans are optimistic about this new season. >> they are set to set the bar high this season. >> as the excitement builds, so do the crowds. >> people get excited about the games. it is a really nice stadiums that draws a lot of people. >> metro is running a number of 8-car trains on the green line and special trouble trains. metro officials expect about

20,000 people to take the metro so if you are taking it to and from expect some crowds. fans are looking forward to new food options that will be provided here at the stadium for the first time here on the first game of the season. new developments on capitol hill. john boehner is signaling a compromise may be near to avoid a government shutdown. vice president joe biden headed to the hill late last night. democrats and republicans are working on a plan that would cut $32 billion over the next six months. earlier, the house voted for $60 billion, but that plan never got through the senate. in prince george's county, a man died after being struck by a train. a freight train hit the man on the tracks near riverdale park.

the man was pronounced dead on the scene. marc trains it did run on schedule this morning. the man's identity has not been released. police are investigating it did the two-car crash in fort washington just after midnight. one man died on the scene, and another man was taken to the hospital in stable condition. no word on the cause of the crash. coming up on abc7 news at noon -- >> i heard a big noise. the trees were going wild and i heard a big boom. >> homes destroyed and trees ripped from the ground. residents are picking up the pieces. a final farewell to a woman who shattered barriers. and flooding in to deliver a

smile, a special surprise for some of the smallest patients.

a former vice presidential nominee will be laid to rest today. both former president bill clinton and secretary of state hillary clinton will be attending, along with nancy pelosi. she died last saturday from a form of blood cancer. she was 75 years old. powerful storms in the south left behind a trail of damage. near orlando, a small plane was

no match for mother nature. florida is getting hammered with another round of storms today. in new orleans wind carried a piece of plywood nearly a block. >> that is part of my roof. i would like to see how they are going to get that down. >> look at that. this restaurant now has hundreds of bands from hailstones about the size of a quarter -- hundreds of dents from hailstones about the size of a quarter. a was telling my parents who flew off from florida to get to d.c. yesterday. they had to sit down the whole time. >> that is nerve wracking when you are an airplane. we will have some active weather but nothing like that. luckily, it is going to be gray and damp.

>> it is too dreary out there today. >> at least we will get the baseball game in. here is our camera at nationals park. it is a time lapse from this morning all the way up until midday now. not much has changed with the sky conditions. you can hardly even see the rosslyn skyline in the distance. this is rosslyn. you could hardly see them off in the distance. now let's go to the bay at chesapeake beach looking east out over the water. low clouds, 41 degrees at chesapeake beach. i have other temperatures shown in a yellow on the doppler radar. 39 degrees in frederick. only 41 degrees down in southern maryland. nothing really popping up on the radar screen just yet.

the radar cannot detect the fine drizzle that exists below the radar beam. that is just picking up the thicker cloud cover moving on into our region. here is the wider picture. eastern tennessee and parts of southeastern kentucky, that is some upper level energy that will come over our region later afternoon and evening. it is enough to cause a few isolated spotty showers later on today and maybe even lingering on to tomorrow morning. that will help develop a low pressure system that will turn into a major snowstorm for new england through tomorrow. that is going to be probably a foot of snow in some parts of new england. they are going to get pounded by an early april snowfall.

around here, temperatures dropping down into the 30's. mostly cloudy tomorrow. another great day with a few morning sprinkles. then the coming breezy. at least temperatures will be becoming warmer. i am gaining confidence in our saturday sunshine. the weekend is looking pretty good. back up near 60 degrees. a little bit of sunshine goes a long way and it makes it feel a lot nicer. >> we need them. have you seen this video? there is a neon green creek that raised some eyebrows in prince george's county. hazmat technicians from the fire department say it was non-toxic dye that caused the discoloration. fire officials say despite the

disturbance appearance, the dye poses no health risks. the d.c. metro area is home to some of the region's healthiest counties, but the news is not all good. arlington, fairfax and let's do county is among virginia's most healthiest counties. the institute ranked printer is county and the district as unhealthy counties. the main factors were poverty access to health care education. a surprise landing delivered smiles to a hospital this morning. airline employees dropped off 100 pairs of twin teddy bears to children undergoing cancer treatment. a brief bright spot. coming up, meeting the

country's newest multimillionaire's. an office pool turned mega millions winners but one man missed his chance to cash in. later today on "oprah

for the first time now we are getting a look at all lucky 7, the group who won last week's record-breaking mega millions lottery jackpot. this morning, the winners picked up their checks for $319 million. they all work at a new york

state agency, and they pulled together for the prize. >> john helton, here is your share of $319 million. >> $319 million. >> the lucky seven have one not so lucky worker. this time, he skipped it, missing out on the multimillion dollar prize. after taxes each winner will take home about $90 million. one of tv's most famous judges is feeling better one day after being rushed to the hospital. judge judy was admitted to serious condition on wednesday morning, complaining of intestinal discomfort during a taping. her publicist says she will be released sometime today. have you ever wondered what the planet mercury looks like? here are some images released by nasa the first ever photos taken from a spacecraft orbiting

that planet. the picture show mercury's southern hemisphere. you concede its south pole which is a 50-mile crater and this section of the planet that has never been photographed up close. pretty amazing

thi the sleepnunumb store a place that changes lives every day. welcome to the sleep number store. a visit here can improve your whole life. as the sleep number setting goes down, the mattress gets softer. that's ni. as the sleep number setting goes up, the bed gets firmer. it's really molding to my body. here, you'll learn how your bed m be causing pain and how the sleep number bed can relieve that pain right iththe store. the small of my back was not being supported before. now it is. we have a left and a right so you can each control your individual si. there's no debate or no squabble because you can have it your way and i'll have it mine. we save a lot of marriages. wow. they do that a lot when yoomfind somebody's perfect leof comfort that may be the first time they've ever felt a bed that feels exactly exke they're hoping it would. fourteen-hundred sleep number experts and theheumber that can change your life. only at the sleep number store.

to us, you're not just a person. you're a number. he said he would be back. arnold schwarzenegger is

returning to hollywood, this time as a comic strip hero. he is teaming up with super hero creator stanley. -- stan lee. the comic book is due out next year. no word on the release date for the tv show. he is back. >> campaigning and budgets, and budget cuts. >> one last look at our weather. >> we pulled ourselves out of the drought. that is good. usually around here, it gets dry in the summer. we want to fill up our reservoir, so that is what we are doing. we will have a few more spotty showers later today and tomorrow. look at tuesday.